


loud as hope

by seekrest



Series: Home for the Holidays [4]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies)
Genre: (Hint: it’s not me), Angst with a Happy Ending, Drowning, F/M, Fluff, Found Family, Gen, Hurt Peter Parker, Hypothermia, Ice Skating, Protective Tony Stark, canon nudged to the left, don’t let the tags fool you it ends happily, for once, written because SOMEONE is a marshmallow
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-26
Updated: 2020-12-26
Packaged: 2021-03-11 04:15:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,444
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28339071
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/seekrest/pseuds/seekrest
Summary: “HELP US!”Tony turns, heart leaping up into his throat when he glances towards the lake and sees Michelle in the distance braced against the edge of a hole in the ice.Tony’s prided himself for years on his sharp mind, quick thinking and snap judgements that work in tandem with his insatiable need to save people.Yet there’s only one person that immediately comes to mind to save now, Pepper’s footsteps behind him and Morgan’s sobs falling away as his stomach drops at the only other person who could need his help— the one person here he hadn’t seen.
Relationships: May Parker (Spider-Man) & Tony Stark, Michelle Jones/Peter Parker, Peter Parker & Tony Stark
Series: Home for the Holidays [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2042758
Comments: 32
Kudos: 169
Collections: Twelve Days of Promptmas





	loud as hope

**Author's Note:**

  * For [blondsak](https://archiveofourown.org/users/blondsak/gifts).
  * Inspired by [our endless numbered days](https://archiveofourown.org/works/28172040) by [seekrest](https://archiveofourown.org/users/seekrest/pseuds/seekrest). 



> This is an alt-universe sequel to the third fic in this series. That ending was intentionally ambiguous so if you want to believe Peter met his end at the bottom of a lake, you totally can.
> 
> If you want to believe otherwise, this is the fic for you :)

The first thing Tony hears are screams. 

He wakes with a start, Pepper stirring next to him as he rubs a hand over his face.

“What--”

“Boss, little miss appears to be in distress,” FRIDAY’s voice rings out over the bedroom - panic already building in the pit of his stomach at the sound. It was a concession between him and Pepper when they moved to the lake house, that FRIDAY could be outfitted within its walls but wouldn’t be allowed into their private residences - a compromise to allow them to rebuild their lives in the wake of unfathomable tragedy without a constant reminder of the life they had left behind.

FRIDAY wasn’t able to access their private bedrooms save for the event of an emergency, only the most immediate mortal peril to anyone currently in residence. 

The thought of something being wrong with Morgan, a bright spot that had illuminated the darkness he’d felt after his loss on Titan, forces him immediately out of bed - vaguely hearing Pepper move from her place in the bed as he bursts out of their bedroom door.

“What happened? Where--”

“DADDY!” Morgan screams, Tony hearing her voice in the distance as he moves on autopilot, down the stairs and into the living room just as Morgan barrels towards the front door.

“Mo? What’s wrong? What’s--”  
  
Morgan’s crying and running so hard that she falls, Tony rushing out of the door still barefoot and in his t-shirt and pajamas as he moves forward to catch her, noticing the ice skates she has on. 

Morgan is inconsolable, sobbing into the snow as she pulls herself up - Tony’s panic only building as his eyes scan her for any discernible injuries, going to ask what she was even doing out here when Morgan cries out words that make Tony stop cold.

“Peter-- Peter fell-- in-- in--”

“HELP US!” 

Tony turns, heart leaping up into his throat when he glances towards the lake and sees Michelle in the distance braced against the edge of a hole in the ice. 

Tony’s prided himself for years on his sharp mind, quick thinking and snap judgements that work in tandem with his insatiable need to save people.

Yet there’s only one person that immediately comes to mind to save now, Pepper’s footsteps behind him and Morgan’s sobs falling away as his stomach drops at the only other person who could need his help— the one person here he hadn’t seen.

“FRIDAY, activate 87-2,” he yells, never being more thankful that Pepper had also conceded to this - the chance to still tinker with suits he hadn’t messed with since over a year ago, a final battle that hadn’t been final for anyone but Thanos.

Tony starts to run towards the lake, hearing the rattle from the garage as the suit comes up from behind him - hitting him in the back as the nanites start to spread from the point of impact. Tony leaps forward into the air, the suit fully encased around him as he flies to where Michelle currently is, stomach churning into knots when he sees the open patch of ice.

“I got him,” Tony calls out to Michelle, HUD display already showing two life forms - Michelle braced against ice that FRIDAY shows already as 87% secure and a body that can only be Peter’s, drifting listlessly under the ice a few feet below.

Tony propels himself forward, sending a pulsar shot out to make way for him as he crashes through the icy frozen waters - stomach continuously churning itself into knots when Peter comes to view.

Peter’s eyes are half-open but his gaze is completely unfocused, Tony sending all the power he has to the boosters of the suit to get to Peter as fast as possible. There’s a weight bringing Peter down fast, a squeeze in Tony’s chest at the realization that it was the coat he’d specially made for him.

He makes it to Peter just as Peter closes his eyes, Tony thinking he sees the faintest hint of a smile on his face as he calls out his name.

Peter doesn’t respond, Tony wrapping his arms around Peter’s waist and changing directions - flying back through the air as Tony starts to plead.

“Pete? Come on, kid. Can you hear me? Peter?” 

Peter’s head just falls backward, Tony flying back towards the house only to see Pepper in the Rescue suit - a hand on Morgan’s shoulder as she looks to Tony.

“I’m gonna get Michelle,” Pepper says, Tony nodding once as he lands before she shoots off into the sky— Morgan sobbing uncontrollably as he approaches with Peter.

“Is— is he?”

“Morgan, go grab some blankets from the closet in the hallway? You know the big fluffy one Peter likes so much?” Tony says as the suit’s mask bleeds away, panic still holding Tony in a vise grip as he walks with purpose to the house.

Morgan’s tiny shoulders shake but she does what she’s told, running past him as Tony looks to Peter and rushes to the front door behind her.

“Come on, Pete. Come on,” Tony pleads, walking to the couch and as the suit dematerializes around him - the strength that the suit had given him to carry a seventeen-year-old disappearing just as the suit does. 

Peter’s skin is pale and his lips blue, but it’s his chest being still that terrifies Tony - immediately moving to chest compressions to try as Morgan comes back in from the hallway.

“FRIDAY, talk to me baby girl,” he says just as Pepper and Michelle come into the front door - Michelle’s hair windswept and looking terrified as she rushes over to them on the couch, kneeling at the edge where Peter’s head is.

“Heartbeat detected boss, but Peter is at serious risk for hypothermia at his current state,” FRIDAY rambles off as Pepper moves towards Morgan, the latter of whom has started sobbing once more before Pepper takes the blankets and pulls her closer. 

Tony knows he has to get Peter warm, can see the shaking of Michelle’s hands and knows from the wretched sobs of Morgan behind him that it doesn’t look good for Peter. 

Tony gives a rescue breath, prioritizing Peter breathing before he addresses the hypothermia-- timing his compressions with pleas.

“Come on, Pete. Come on. Come on, kid.”

For a split second, it’s as if the world stops for Tony - feeling as if he’s on the gulf of something horrifyingly familiar, terror flooding through him at the possibility that he’s woken up to a world where Peter would die once more in his arms. 

And then Tony hears the most beautiful, awful sound he’s heard since Morgan’s first cry, a wet gasp as Peter sharply inhales then gurgles - Tony turning him to his side to the recovery position as Peter starts to vomit out lake water.

If Tony had any doubts about Michelle’s ability to handle the relentless strokes of bad luck that befell Peter, they were completely gone now-- Michelle’s hands gently bracing Peter along with Tony as Peter cleared his lungs.

It’s only when he’s done, when Peter’s breathing is wheezy and haggard but _there_ that Tony feels the ache in his chest start to loosen-- his mind working back in overdrive now that the sole focus of making sure Peter was _alive_ was alleviated.

“Dad?”

“Yeah?” Tony says with a huff, the relief instantaneous as Peter’s chest continues to rise and fall - now working off his coat as best he can as Michelle works in tandem with him.

“Is he gonna-- gonna be okay?” Morgan asks through chokes sobs, Tony finally turning over his shoulder to meet Pepper’s eyes - the relief he feels immediately understood and acknowledged as Pepper’s own shoulders sag.

“Yeah Mo,” Tony says affirmatively, turning his attention back to Peter and sending a thank you out to whoever would listen in the universe that he made it in time.

“He’ll be fine.”

* * *

“You look like Rudolph.” 

Peter laughs, huddled under more blankets than he thinks he’s ever been wrapped before in his life as he looks up to Michelle - smiling as she holds two cups of cocoa in her hands. 

She extends one of them out to him, Peter carefully taking it from her as to not disturb Morgan who is asleep right next to him— her body heat almost stifling with how warm he feels now. 

“Thanks,” he says, moving the cocoa gently to one hand before slowly adjusting the blankets next to him. 

“Stop, you’re supposed to--”

“Come on, MJ,” Peter says, Michelle studying him for a beat before sliding next to him underneath one of the covers, wrapping the edge of it around her until they’re huddled next to each other, Morgan still knocked out from the days events as she shifts slightly in her sleep. 

Michelle curls up closer to him, Peter keeping a steady hand for his cocoa in one— one arm sliding to wrap around Michelle with the other. 

They sit there like that for a moment, Peter being content to watch the flames flicker back and forth from the fireplace before Michelle finally speaks— breaking the quiet with a soft voice.

“You scared me.”

Peter shifts till he can look at her more clearly, her eyes searching his face as she says, “Scared Morgan too.”

Peter looks back to the sleeping girl next to him, her little arms wrapped tightly around him as he says, “she’ll never want to skate with me ever again.”

“She’ll never want _you_ to skate ever again,” Michelle corrects. Peter smirks at her as Michelle takes a sip of her cocoa before saying, “She told me you’re not allowed to anymore.”

Peter raises his eyebrows in surprise. “She did?”

Michelle nods as she brings her cocoa down, turning her head to look at Peter as she jokes, “Nothing like bonding over a near-death experience.”

Her tone is teasing but Peter can’t help but feel guilt twisting around in his gut, not just for causing everyone to worry about him but at how close it could’ve gone horribly wrong for Morgan or Michelle.

Peter knows he should be glad that _he’s_ okay but he’s more focused on the possibilities of what could’ve happened — not to himself but if he hadn’t reached Morgan in time or if Pepper hadn’t gotten Michelle from out the cracked water.

Michelle seems to sense his worry, nudging him slightly as she says, “Everyone’s okay, Pete.”

“I shouldn’t have brought you out there so early,” Peter says, a thank you out to the universe that it had been _him_ who’d fallen under the ice and not anyone else. “If I hadn’t—“

“Something else would’ve happened,” Michelle interjects, sending Peter a knowing glance. “Parker luck right?”

Peter lets out a sharp laugh, too sharp for how it causes Morgan to stir. They both stay silent, waiting for her to settle back on Peter’s lap when Michelle says, “It’s gonna be okay.”

“It might not have been,” Peter softly whispers, staring off into the fireplace until Michelle pokes his cheek.

“But it is,” she says when he turns to her, a smirk on her face she continues, “though you probably took off thirty years of Stark’s life.”

“He’ll be fine,” Peter says with a laugh, even if the guilt still clenches in his chest at just how bad of an idea their early morning snow adventure turned out to be.

“And so will we,” Michelle says affirmatively, Peter taking a deep breath and exhaling slowly before drinking some of his cocoa.

“You’re probably right.”

“I know I am,” Michelle says with a smile, one that helps loosen the anxiety in Peter’s chest as they clink their mugs together - settling in on the couch as Peter tries and fails to let go of his guilt.

* * *

“Everything’s okay?”

“Yeah, they’re conked out now,” Tony says into the phone, smiling at the picture in front of him. Peter, Michelle and Morgan are all asleep, Tony snapping a quick picture and sending it off to May before bringing the phone back to his ear. 

“I think that’s the closest Mo’s allowed MJ to her in awhile,” Tony says wryly, the vaguest hint of guilt at his daughter’s behavior and his seeming inability to curb it churning around in his gut.

“They’ll be okay,” May says gently, laughing softly on the other end, “I keep telling Peter that he should enjoy it now before Morgan makes MJ his favorite.”

“Great minds, May Parker. Said the same thing to him yesterday,” Tony says with a laugh that feels unearned, his heart skipping a beat again for how terribly this day could’ve gone. 

It was an accident, sure — something no one could’ve predicted. But Tony couldn't help but still feel as if he’d dropped the ball somewhere, hadn’t done enough to try and mitigate Morgan’s jealousy in a way that would motivate Peter and Michelle to sneak out in the morning. 

Pepper had already said he was ridiculous for the thought, something he himself recognizes so he doesn’t bring it up to May, choosing instead to ask, “You and Arthur still coming up tomorrow?”

“Yep, should be there around ten at the latest.”

Tony shifts around, an uncomfortable feeling building in his gut as he says, “Still don’t know why Mr. Jones feels the need to come by.”

“He’s MJ’s father, Tony. I’d want to know who my child is spending all that time with too,” May says dryly, Tony wincing at the memory of when May Parker found out just exactly the extent of - or how little, at the time - Tony had been involved in Peter’s life. 

Now, six years later, a dead Titan and a genuine connection built between them, Tony counts May as one of his closest friends— enough to admit, “Why do I feel like _I’m_ the one on trial here?”

“You’re a father, Tony. You understand,” May says gently, Tony sighing only to smile when he glances over to Morgan — now drooling on the blanket wrapped around Peter.

The guilt and the fear of earlier are still faint traces in the background but the vision of the three of them safe in front of him is like a salve. 

A younger version of him would’ve dwelled on all the ways it could’ve gone wrong, a brilliant mind that ran in a thousand different directions. Tony now, retired and actually having achieved a peace he never thought possible, is that much more able to relax and accept not the what if’s, but what is. 

“Yeah,” Tony says with a smile, the fireplace casting shadows on the three kids in front of him.

“I do.” 


End file.
